Facebook argument generates reaction

MOSES LAKE - A story about a Facebook fight that cost a woman her position on the Moses Lake School District's substitute roster generated 73 comments on the Columbia Basin Herald's Facebook page and 54 comments on the paper's website.

Coriann Ulrich posted an outspoken message on a Facebook site called "I Hate Teen Moms," saying that women had tools to avoid pregnancy, and responsible women used them. Profanity was used in the post. That prompted a reply from a California woman, Jennifer Gutterud, who bitterly protested the post and used Ulrich's personal Facebook page to determine where she worked and complain to the Moses Lake School District. District officials told Ulrich they would no longer use her services.

The story, once posted to the Herald's Facebook site and webpage, generated comment on both sites and at "I Hate Teen Moms." Opinion was split between people who were concerned that exercising freedom of speech cost Ulrich a job and those who thought the comment was inappropriate enough for repercussions.

There were also those who thought people posting on Facebook should know the perils that come with talking online. "She (Ulrich) does need to be more understanding in her language on Facebook now that an employer has the 'right' to look you up," wrote Kendra O'Neill. Kamille Vaughan said it's only common sense for people to be cautious when posting on Facebook. "This isn't the first person to lose a job from what they said on Facebook, for sure," she wrote.

But, Josie Ritter said, people shouldn't lose a job for online comments, "otherwise half the people in this world would be out of a job." Samantha Davis, however, thought caution was in order; "sadly, when you have that kind of job, you have to be careful what you say and who you say it to," she said.

The post, Davis said, "wasn't very kind." The site, said Debbie Hesse, "is not a nice place. The page truly brings out the worst in people." Ulrich's language was enough to cause a reaction, and Tammy Tudor said that was fair. "Hey, we all make mistakes, but you have to be willing to roll with the consequences, teen pregnancy or unprofessional dialogue."

Alexander Graham took issue with the premise that bad language and blunt comments should cost a job. "Seriously, by the time I got to junior high, my friends and I cursed like sailors." Tudor said that there's a difference between kids and adults who must work in professional situations. "You have to demonstrate maturity in your field."

Graham said he had teachers who told kids exactly what they thought, and didn't pull punches. When he was a kid he thought those teachers were just being mean, he said, but as he grew up it turned out they were right. A dose of reality is necessary for everyone, he said.

Tudor said it's important to be positive; a doctor whose patients weren't following his instructions on obesity would respond better to positive encouragement, she said.

"More conversation is needed about what is private and what is free speech and if one's thought, once vocalized, (while not in the workplace) are grounds for termination even when their actions remain respectful," Hesse said.